Former White House Chef Sam Kass: How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis

The Dr. Hyman Show

Dr. Mark Hyman

Health & Fitness, Nutrition, Medicine

4.6 • 8.7K Ratings

🗓️ 29 October 2025

⏱️ 91 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Our food system is reaching a breaking point—and the warning signs are already on our plates. From disappearing crops to rising health costs, it’s clear that the way we grow and eat food can’t continue as it has. Today on The Dr. Hyman Show, I sit down with Sam Kass, former White House chef and senior policy advisor, to explore his new book The Last Supper: The Politics of the End of Food. We talk about what’s driving the crisis, what’s already being done to repair it, and how each of us can help build a food system that supports both people and the planet. Join us for the full conversation on YouTube, or listen wherever you get your podcasts. We discuss: • What if the foods you eat every day are quietly shaping both your health and the planet’s? • Learn how a healthier food system could mean cleaner air, better soil, and stronger communities. • See why so many farmers want to do better—and what keeps them stuck. • How everyday food choices shape the culture that businesses and policymakers follow. • Simple actions you can take now to help build a food system that serves all of us. If this really is our “last supper” with the food system as we know it, we have the power to decide what comes next. Let’s make it a meal that feeds both people and the planet. View Show Notes From This Episode Get Free Weekly Health Tips from Dr. Hyman https://drhyman.com/pages/picks?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Sign Up for Dr. Hyman’s Weekly Longevity Journal https://drhyman.com/pages/longevity?utm_campaign=shownotes&utm_medium=banner&utm_source=podcast Join the 10-Day Detox to Reset Your Health https://drhyman.com/pages/10-day-detox Join the Hyman Hive for Expert Support and Real Results https://drhyman.com/pages/hyman-hive This episode is brought to you by PerfectAmino, Big Bold Health, Function Health and AirDoctor. Go to bodyhealth.com and use code HYMAN20 for 20% off your first order. Get 20% off HTB Immune Energy Chews at bigboldhealth.com and use code DRMARK20. Join today at FunctionHealth.com/Mark and use code HYMAN100 to get $100 toward your membership. Get cleaner air. Right now, you can get up to $300 off at airdoctorpro.com/drhyman.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The things we love to eat, we won't be able to be eating soon. What's really at stake is our way of life. Our ability to pass down to the next generation, the delicious lives we have, and try to improve on that. Obviously, there's a ton of problems in our system that we must improve. But even our ability to make any kind of change is under real threat because of the climate. And nobody's really talking about those connections to the extent that I think
0:21.3	matches the challenges that we face. It's not about our kids and grandkids. This is happening right now.
0:26.5	Sam Cass served as a senior policy advisor for nutrition in the Obama White House, and he was the
0:31.8	executive director of Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative. He's a University of Chicago graduate. He's
0:36.3	trained under the Austrian chef Christian Domeshits. now invests in food technology startups and is the author of
0:42.0	The Last Supper, How to Overcome the Coming Food Crisis. I don't think most people realize the degree
0:46.7	to which the agricultural system is contributing to climate change. And particularly the loss of soil,
0:52.5	it's estimated that our food systems contribute to
0:54.9	34% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. We have not done anywhere near what is needed to prepare
1:01.7	our system from an adaptation of resilience standpoint to ensure we're going to be able to produce
1:06.8	food in this very volatile climate. For people listening who are saying, well, what the heck am I going to do?
1:12.0	What can they do to actually change this system from the outside of?
1:20.4	As the year winds down, your body's under more stress.
1:22.9	Travel, family gatherings, long workdays.
1:24.9	That's why now is the time to keep your immune system strong.
1:27.9	I rely on H.TB immune energy chews from Big Bold Health. Each serving delivers 1,000 milligrams
1:32.9	of sprouted Himalayan tartary buckwheat, a powerful seed packed with over 100 immune active
1:37.7	polyphenols like quercetin and rutan. These compounds are studied for supporting healthy immune
1:42.1	balance and longevity, but it doesn't stop there.
1:44.5	Each chew also includes vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, and zinc.
1:48.2	All nutrients your immune system depends on, especially during colder months.
1:51.7	And because they're chews, not pills, they're convenient and delicious.
	...

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